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In this continuing series, we cover my move from San Diego to Chita, Siberia to be a professor at Chita State Technical University. We pick up the story outside the airport in Khabarovsk, Russia.

Khabarovsk

Khabarovsk is an amazing city. Museums with works from Picasso, Rembrandt and other masters. A bustling downtown area with cafes, a lively music scene and architectural triumphs. Then again, maybe not. We were far more interested in finding a hotel with hot water and never ventured into the city.

Outside of the airport, we were a bit flummoxed by the fact there appeared to be no taxis. We quickly learned that practically any Russian with a car is also a taxi for hire. After 5 minutes of egging each other on, Grae made taxi arrangements and we were off. Apparently taking in out disheveled appearance after 3 days of traveling, our driver suggested the Intourist hotel. We readily agreed.

During communism, Intourist hotels were set up for exclusive use by foreigners. Ours was fairly nice and, importantly, had showers with copious amounts of hot water. You can see a picture at http://www.lodging.ru/hotels/intouristkhab.asp. After having returned to humanity with one of the best showers of my life, it was time to brush up on my Russian skills.

I am a huge fan of ice hockey. During the eighties and nineties, many of the best players were Russians. In interviews, they almost always talked about learning English by watching television. If it worked for them, it would work for me. Not exactly.

As Grae showered, I flipped through the eight available channels. Sitcoms were a non-starter, but I eventually found a news channel. I see the images. I know what the images are. I hear the words being spoken by the reporters. I have absolutely no idea of what words go with what images. Okay, lets back up. What words do they use over and over? Damn, do they have to talk so fast? After 30 minutes, I have learned nothing, nada, zippo. My respect for Russians playing in the NHL has never been higher.

Might as well sleep on it. Yes, day three of the trip was finally done. My original prediction of a 2-day trip was out the window. Still, we were in Russia, so how much longer could it take? Pull out a map and take a look at the country. It is twice the size of the U.S.

Next When Stairs Attack

Team Building Question:

How do you treat team members who have reached the salary bar and cannot be promoted to the next level just yet? What do you do to keep them motivated?

The Team Doc Says

This happens in many organizations due to the workforce getting older and maintaining a large number of veteran team members in the mix.

Take the focus off money. Its a motivator, but short term. Take a look at what the team member values and see what you can do to provide motivation to accommodate those values.

One thing you can do right now is to understand how each team member perceives their fit in your organization. You can find out how your employees feel by asking them:

• What do you find most challenging about your work?
• What aspect of your work provides the most satisfaction?
• What are the biggest obstacles to completing your work?
• What resources would make your work easier?

Finding the answers to these questions can help you in nailing down just the right motivational tactic to keep each team member on the right track. Then create action plans to maintain team member involvement in the growth process.

Another option is tapping into the knowledge base of your maturing workforce. One thing you don't want to happen is to let all that knowledge walk out the door when mature team members leave. Consider implementing a "buddy" or mentoring system where mature team members have an opportunity to take a younger team member under their wing and share the intellectual capital in their head. This technique is a win /win for everyone -- the mature team member gets to share all that great information he's stored up for years, the younger team member benefits from a master and the company gets a better employee.

Denise O'Berry (aka "Team Doc") provides tools, tips and advice to help organizations build better teams. Find out more at http://www.teambuildingtips.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Denise_O'Berry